The present invention relates to a wheeled vehicle, comprising one or more drive wheels situated relatively close to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, at least two liftable supporting wheels situated at a relatively greater distance from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and coupling wheels for connecting the vehicle to a load resting on the ground and to be moved by said vehicle, the drive means being direction-controllable, the wheels being fitted in such a way that when one or more supporting wheels are raised from the ground the vehicle is out of balance, and the coupling means being designed in such a way that with coupled load the vehicle with supporting wheels raised from the ground is in balance.
Such a vehicle is known from BE-A-419,482. This describes a vehicle having at the front side thereof two mechanically driven drive wheels and at he rear side thereof two supporting wheels which can be raised Jointly from the ground. The drive wheels are situated directly on either side of a vertical shaft about which they can be swivelled. The liftable supporting wheels are situated considerably further apart, on either side of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. When the vehicle is connected to a load resting on the ground, the liftable wheels can be lifted off the ground without the combination of vehicle with load as a whole being out of balance. Such a combination is particularly easily direction-controllable, in particular when the load is a single axle. In addition, the vehicle, which is relatively expensive due to the propulsion and control means fitted therein, can be used for moving many kinds of loads. This means that this vehicle can be used as efficiently as possible.
The disadvantage is, however, that the making of a connection between the known vehicle and a load is laborious and time-consuming. This is due, inter alia, to the fact that the connection to be made between vehicle and load is a completely rigid connection which is used to ensure that vehicle and load as a whole are in balance when the supporting wheels of the vehicle are raised from the ground. There is also the disadvantage that, particularly when a light load is attached, the drive wheels often have insufficient grip on the ground and often spin.
The object of the invention is to provide a more efficient vehicle of the above-mentioned type which does not have the above-mentioned disadvantages.